Trump continues to hold commanding lead over Haley

By Fox News Staff Fox News

Published January 18, 2024 8:35pm ESTUpdated January 25, 2024 1:13pm EST

Breaking down the Trump-Haley New Hampshire primary results

Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume and former Trump senior counselor Kellyanne Conway provide voter analysis and examine factors driving ballot decision on ‘Special Report.’ 

Eight days after he crushed the competition in Iowa’s low-turnout Republican presidential caucuses, former President Donald Trump quickly defeated former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley — his final remaining major rival for the GOP nomination — in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.

Fox News projected Trump would win the primary just a few minutes after the final polls closed in New Hampshire. The primary saw record turnout despite some reports that low energy among voters would depress the vote.

Here’s a snapshot of where the battle to lead the Republican Party stands. 

A Flourish chart

DELEGATE COUNT AFTER NEW HAMPSHIRE: 

1. Trump: 32
2. Haley: 17
3. DeSantis: 9
4. Ramaswamy: 3

DELEGATES NEEDED TO WIN: 1,215 

DELEGATES REMAINING: 2,368 

Nikki Haley and Donald Trump. (Michael M. Santiago/Al Drago/Bloomberg)

ONE NEW VICTORY LAP: In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman following his victory, Trump said he was “very honored” by the support he received from voters, and declared that the Republican Party was “very united” behind his candidacy.

When asked if he felt Haley would suspend her campaign, he said, “I don’t know. She should.”

“She should because, otherwise, we have to keep wasting money instead of spending on Biden,” Trump said. “If she doesn’t drop out, we have to waste money instead of spending it on Biden, which is our focus.”

ONE NEW FOX NEWS VOTER ANALYSIS: The Fox News Voter Analysis survey of more than 900 New Hampshire Democrat primary voters was released Wednesday. It shows that Democratic primary voters are less than enthused about voting for President Biden in the general election. More than half (55%) of the respondents said they would be satisfied with Biden as the eventual Democratic nominee, with 13% saying they would be dissatisfied enough that they would not support him in the November election.

Biden and the DNC found themselves at odds with New Hampshire Democrats after they attempted to strip New Hampshire of its coveted “first in the nation” primary status earlier this year. The DC Democrat machine tried to make South Carolina the first state to hold a primary because Biden won there in 2020 — he finished a dismal fifth place in New Hampshire that year. The Democrats also believed that making South Carolina the first state to hold a primary would increase racial diversity in the election process.

ONE NEW ENDORSEMENTS: Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, endorsed former president Donald Trump on Wednesday. 

The most influential members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, had endorsed Trump weeks ago. Kennedy had previously told NOLA.com that he was waiting for the primary battle to play out but following Trump’s decisive victory in New Hampshire on Tuesday, he’d seen enough. “Competition makes us all better, so I let the primary play out, but this thing’s over,” he posted on X. “It’s going to be President Trump versus President Biden: A choice between hope and more hurt. It’s not even close. I choose hope. I am endorsing Pres. Trump and look forward to working with him.”

ONE NEW ULTIMATUM: Former President Trumpannounced donors to his presidential primary opponent will be “barred” from the “Make American Great Again” community. In a lengthy Truth Social diatribe against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who the former president called a “birdbrain,” Trump promised to reject any attempts by her donors to switch to his camp.

“Nikki ‘Birdbrain’ Haley is very bad for the Republican Party and, indeed, our Country. Her False Statements, Derogatory Comments, and Humiliating Public Loss, is demeaning to True American Patriots,” the former president wrote. “Her anger should be aimed at her Third Rate Political Consultants and, more importantly, Crooked Joe Biden and those that are destroying our Country – NOT THE PEOPLE WHO WILL SAVE IT.”

Wall Street billionaires Stanley Druckenmiller, Henry Kravis, Ken Langone and Cliff Asness are planning to co-host a fundraiser for Haley to keep her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination well-financed after the New Hampshire primary.

ONE KEY QUOTE: 

“Now you’ve all heard the chatter among the political class. They’re falling all over themselves saying this race is over. Well, I have news for all of them: New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not last in the nation. This race is far from over,” former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said after her New Hampshire primary loss to former President Donald Trump.